Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-02-12
THE SUMAC INDUSTRY.
ACCOUNT OF A CORRESPONDENT
FROM THE ISLAND OF SICILY.

Methods OF Cultivation In the Great
Sumac DIstrict--Gathrring the Crop
of Leaves-On the Threshing Floor.
virginia's Product.
Sicilian sumac stands first in all the
markets of the world This is due to the
great care bestowed upon its gathering
and curing. The sumac is a native of
Africa and Syria. For centuries it has
been grown i'll Sicily, but it is not in
digenOus To that island where its seed
seldom comes to perfection, and il is pro-
paEated by sprouts and suckers. In
Africa the seed, which is perfect, is used
rs a Condiment. The sumac belongs to
the genus Rhus-turpentine family.
There are many varieties of this shrub,
some of which are used in tanning, others
in dyeing and others again in medicine.
The Rhus COriaria known here as the
common sumaC} is generally cultivated in
Sicily. Palermo and Trapani are the
great sumaC districts. Ii is also grown
in the province Of Catiana but is al present
seldom TO he met with in the province Of
/ Nessiua. IL grows wild in certain sec
tions, where it propagates by suckers.
/ The cultivated sumac is very bushy. In
/ der favorable conditions of soil and eli
mate it grows from nine to twelve feet
high. but as it is annually topped it does
not attain Il height greater than three
feet-one years growth of wood. 1t
thriveS where the orange tree and cotton
plant have their home. 1t is also well
adapted To a temperate climate. y warm,
CalCareo-siliceOus porous soil suits it best.
METHODS OF CULTIVATION.
The sumac is worked in December or
from the old plants and set out in the
grove. When the leaves sell for IL
cents per pound suckers bring cent
apiece. Suckers should be straight, one
half inches in diameter, fifteen inches high
and well supplied with iibrous roots.
| They are set out in parallel rows, running
with the slope of the land-5.0O0 TO the
acre, and trimmed down TO within six
inches of the ground. They are Culti-
waited by hand, n long, broad grubbing hoe
tzappal being used. The earth is drawn
up 10 the plants that the rain may run Off.
During the first year-from December to
Scptemhcr-the SumaC is worked seven
times: i'll December. February and April
deep grubbings; i'll May the earth is lev
eled, and three light workings follow he
tween June and September. During the
second and subsequent years it is worked
i'll December and the earth is leyeled in
March, heavy rains seldom occurring in
Sicily during the spring The third and
last working is in May. At three years
the sumac is full grown. Its ihnumer-
able suckers must then be removed or they
will enfeeble the plant.
The first year the sumac bears but few
leaves, which mature late are light. aud
have neither the color nor the aroma Of
those of the adult shrub. During August
and September the large leaves are
gathered and the tender ones. on the tips
OF the branches, are left until they are
mature in October. In January the plants
are cut down Ia a height of six inches.
Plants of two years and over are either
topped and trimmed before their leaves
are gathered "a considerable saving of
labor. hut hy topping the shrubs in mid
summer their longevity and productive
ness are diminished. "r stripped of their
leaves in May. June, August or Septem-
Der. and pruned i'll December or January
following Men only are employed for
pruning. As each man gathers an arm
ful of branches or twigs, he piles them on
the ground in rows, in such manner as
to expose as little surface as possible to
the sun, which bIeaches and scorches the
The rows are run in the direction of the
prevailing winds TO avoid loss by the
scattering of the leaves. Should the
branches and twigs be exposed To n shower
while lying -n the ground their leaves
suffer greatly, both in quality and weight.
Twenty days after the main harvesting
the suckers are, in turn, stripped of their
leaves. Women and children gather the
leaves
on THE THRAsHISG FLOOR.
After a few days of dry, warm weather
the crop is carried To the thra shing floor,
and the leaves are whipped off with the
old fashioned fail and baled. The twigs
are tied in bundles and sold for firewood.
When the leaves are stripped by hand
they are ut once carried TO the stOrehouse
and turned over three or four times a day
with pitchforks, TO prevent ovcrheating
and fermentation. These leaves are thus
cured in four or five days, baled and sent
to the mills to be ground
The price Of sunac depends upon the
color of the leaves which should he bright
green when put upon the market. Cured
leaves from n One-year-old bush are of
dull green color; those of the September
gathering are blackish in hue. Care is
taken not 10 mix the different varieties.
-Four qualities of sumac are quoted on tie
market: First quality, whole leaves, free
from trash, shipped in bales; second quail
ity, thrashed sumac; third quality, leaves
from one-year old shrubs; fourth quality,
leaves Of September gathering.
The sumac grows spontaneously in va
riOus sections of the United States on poor,
rough and abandoned lands and hillsides.
1t has never been subjected TO cultivation,
though there appears no reason why it
may not he. In Virginia the price of the
raw product, as delivered To the mills,
varies with different seasons ard cOndi-
tions all the way from twenty-five cents
to seventy-iive cents per 100 pounds,
which is very much less than what Sicilan
sumac brings in its home market The
duty on ground sumac entering the United
.Nates is three tenths of one cent per
..ound.-San Francisco Chronicle.
Soldiers Betting on Flies.
@YeS, We used 10 have a spasm of goodness
in the army every now and then, said an old
soldier yesterday. That is to say, the officers